Designing the Application of Verbal Fluency Test in Persian for Neurocognitive Evaluations

Abstract

Verbal fluency test is a useful method to evaluate cognitive executive functions. Studies have shown that both types of verbal fluency test (phonemic and semantic) are influenced by brain damage. This test is rarely used by clinicians because it takes too much time to perform. Therefore, we decided to increase its speed and accuracy by designing a verbal fluency test application in Persian language. The study on designing the application of verbal fluency test in Persian was published in the journal of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience entitled “Verbal fluency performance in normal adult population in Iran: norms and effects of age, education and gender”. To design the application, two software engineers, one programmer, and one graphic designer had cooperation with each other. First, the programming was done. During the programming, the programmer first implemented the tables related to the test. Then, by entering constant variables, an initial layout in the form of a look-up table was developed. Then, the graphic designs were added to the application. By testing 100 different scores with the relevant table and receiving the output, the accuracy of the initial version was confirmed. After designing the software, field tests were performed by 10 clinicians to evaluate the application in terms of ease of use and main structural errors. Finally, by testing 100 different scores, the accuracy of the final version was confirmed. The verbal fluency test application in Persian can increase the use of psychological and cognitive tests by Iranian clinicians by increasing the speed and accuracy of tests.